Raising Multilingual Children : Foreign Language Acquisition and Children

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Summary: An EXCELLENT resource re: children + foreign language/s!
Review: I highly recommend, Raising Multilingual Children, written by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa. As stated clearly on page one, this Book is for all parents, teachers and caregivers of children who speak more than one language. I also think this Book is a great resource for any parent, who considers learning (a) foreign language(s) an intellectual challenge and a necessary facet for a well-rounded education.

I am a parent of two children ages 3 and 10 who are studying English, Italian and German and this is the first Book 'of many books written by linguists and/or educators- I have read which helped me understand foreign language acquisition, and neuroanatomy in a very practical and logical way. The Book's format compares cooking (something almost everyone can relate to'to foreign language acquisition- a subject that is often written by linguists in a technical and academically complex manner).

I found the 90 family case studies/detailed accounts of family experiences with foreign languages helpful as I could relate to many issues I have encountered with my older daughter. I also gained valuable information by reading many personal family experiences that Ms. Tokuhama-Espinosa shares about her 3 children.

This Book was built upon the foundation of Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa's 12 years of valuable diverse experience as a counselor of students in two international schools-Tokyo and Quito, conducting research and attending lectures at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and living in multilingual /culturally diverse countries. Contained here in this Book are: an excellent 'family language profile' 'family language goals worksheet', and an extensive appendix of how to find language sources in a scarce language environment, an excellent glossary of linguistic terms and an extensive bibliography. There is also a chapter that addresses difficulties in foreign language acquisition, which gives some strategies for solving problems that arise.

For anyone who wants to know more about children learning foreign language(s) children -or moves and finds their child/ren in the situation of learning a new language this Book is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: Parent's Guide to Multilingual Children
Review: I read this book before putting it in my school's library and enjoyed every minute. Most of the books I read about multilingualism and literacy are not easily accessible to families because of language and terminology - but this manages to be both profound and very readable and the store of case studies is a big help as families will recognize situations and strategies similar to their own. It also bears out my own experience - although I am not a language teacher, as Head of a large international school I come across a great many families who have the anxieties and concerns (as well as the vision and the excitement) of so many parents who are described in this book and who are bringing up their own multilingual children. THis will be a great help and support to them and give them some clear foundations about what their own role as parents can be.

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Summary: THIS BOOK GIVES A TOP NOTCH EXPLANATION OF MULTILINGUALISM
Review: Raising Multilingual Children is the most informative book I have read in a long time. Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa has conducted thorough research in linguistics and in language acquistion in children. She provides scientific facts as well as insights into how children learn. She covers all bases, from speaking to reading and writing and more. This book gives a recipe for success which is easily understood and which also provides a motivation for following the recipe. These methods work and this book sequentially answered my questions and explained in detail why these methods work and why they are so important.

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Summary: Multilingual is not for avg. family striving for bilingual
Review: This book gives great insight to the world of language acquisition from many perspectives with supporting evidence. However, aside from the basic description of the ingredients for success and discussion thereof, it is not extremely useful for a family who wants to achieve bilingual fluency alone. It is a well-written, well-researched autobiography of a highly educated family who has become multilingual as a chosen (but essential) skill for their diplomatic lifestyle. It is loaded with brief case studies that are not very relevant to the average American family trying to promote bilingual fluency.

Again, fantastic resource and an easy read if becoming a multi-lingual family is your goal, but if you are looking for a "nuts and bolts how to manual" for bilingual fluency, this falls short (as do many others).